Thursday 9 August 2012 06.30 EDT
First published on Thursday 9 August 2012 06.30 EDT

I have very high expectations of myself," Lutalo Muhammad says coolly, shrugging aside a suggestion that he is the British Olympian facing the most intense pressure at London 2012. "Everyone is saying I have to win a gold medal. Whenever I hear that I say: 'Oh good. I expect to win gold myself.' So, for me, it's no different. I go into every tournament wanting to win and that expectation and confidence comes from the right preparation. I feel I can do very well."

Muhammad smiles, charmingly rather than arrogantly, and it takes a moment to absorb the singular way in which he has responded to a highly unusual situation. The controversy surrounding Muhammad's selection to the Great Britain Taekwondo team resulted in legal proceedings and a bitter spat over his right to be picked ahead of Aaron Cook. The world No1, who last year left the GB camp to train separately for the Olympics, Cook has had heavyweight backing from Sir Steve Redgrave and Sir Matthew Pinsent.

GB Taekwondo resisted the crusade to oust Muhammad by pointing out that Redgrave is paid by Visa, who also sponsor Cook. Pinsent and Cook, meanwhile, are represented by the same agent. A mighty corporate machine had lambasted a relatively obscure sport in taekwondo. Yet the GB selectors argued that their decision was shaped by rule changes that now award more points to tall, agile fighters who land kicks and blows to the head. Muhammad may currently only be No57 in the world but his height and skills made it imperative that they opt for him ahead of Cook in the 80kg category.

Sarah Stevenson, Muhammad's team-mate, pointed out that taekwondo world rankings are often illusory for they reflect best on those who compete regularly rather than providing an accurate guide. Yet the furore surrounding Muhammad, who turned 21 in June, prompted another team-mate, Jade Jones, to express her sympathy. "It will be hard for Lutalo," Jones said. "There is now double the amount of pressure on him to do well."

Muhammad nods thoughtfully. "It's been a tough ordeal," he murmurs, for he and his family have received hate mail. "But the one positive is that I've seen how supportive everyone around me has been. In my GB camp I'm in a protected bubble. They're like my second family. It's meant that I've handled this ordeal very well."

His composure is as impressive as the way in which, while emitting high-pitched cries, he snaps his long legs and lands point-scoring kicks during a last session of sparring before his attempt to win a medal on Friday. Yet how did he feel when John Cullen, a former British champion, said the decision to omit Cook was akin to "Barcelona not picking Lionel Messi"?

A Londoner who supports Manchester United, Muhammad smiles in response. "That's his opinion. I understand he's a great supporter of Aaron. But I've been selected, the Games are well under way and my focus can't be on this any more. I really don't see it as a big deal any longer. My focus is on winning."

Does Muhammad visualise himself winning the final and silencing his critics? "Absolutely," he says, his eyes sparkling at the imagined scene. "It might sound strange but I've visualised this so many times that part of me feels like it's already done. I've done it once [in his head] so I know I can do it again. Chris Hoy had a great line on this. After he won a World Cup he said he'd visualised it so often he wasn't sure if he'd really won it. Was it just another visualisation or the real thing?"

Muhammad cackles at that surreal blurring of anticipation and reality. "At this stage we're all physically at the same level," Muhammad says of himself and his rivals. "We can all only be so fit. We can all only kick so fast. We're all the same weight. That's why I think the mental edge will make the difference between gold and going out in the early rounds. I have that mental edge."

Muhammad's selection is also rooted in the European title he won in the 87kg [middleweight] division in May. Cook was awarded the 80kg [welterweight] gold medal at those championships – but Muhammad's performance proved his winning mentality. Before the Europeans did he also visualise, and expect, his victory? "Yes," Muhammad says, before repeating that same word with quiet force. "Yes. The best decision I ever made was to go to the [GB] Academy in Manchester. I've since beaten some of the major players in the world and won the Europeans."

Does he have the same feeling of imminent victory now? "It's stronger. I know now that if I perform well I can win major titles and beat the best in the world. I'm in a very open category with 15 other world-class exponents. Everyone is dangerous. Everyone has the potential to win. But I can beat all of them and go on to win. So I'm focused on myself. I really believe if I perform well I can win the gold medal."He sounds excited, rather than diminished, by the "unbearable" pressure. "Definitely. Training has gone amazingly well and I'm confident within myself and my coaches, and with everything we've gone through. I'm in the shape of my life and I believe that, if ever there was a time, it's now."

Yet Muhammad is no braggart – and he remembers how, as a small boy, he was besieged with nerves. "I was a nervous wreck. I even used to vomit with nerves, when I was nine, and first began to compete." So he would vomit and then still go out and fight? "Yes. I'd still go out and win. I've always known that if I perform well I can win gold medals. I don't think that's going to be different at the Olympics."

For Muhammad, these home Games will seem especially resonant. "I'm a Walthamstow boy. We live only 20 minutes away from Stratford so it's great for me. My dad has his [martial arts] academy just across the way in Hackney. He's had that since I was three – which was when I started training. But I remember the Sydney Games in 2000 as the first time I took a real interest in taekwondo. Dad turned to me and said: 'Hey, do you think you might want to do this one day?' I said: 'Yeah, sure,' without really realising the enormity of the decision I'd just made. Both my parents are the kind of people that if their children show a talent or passion for something they put all their financial backing, emotions and hard work into us.

"In my mid-teens we had our moments. At that age you want to start going out. There are girls everywhere and I'm thinking the taekwondo will take care of itself. But Dad said: 'No. You're going to the gym.' I don't want to say I resented it but I felt I was missing out. But I'm so grateful now my dad had the ability to keep me focused. If it hadn't been for Dad I would be nowhere."

His parents suffered more than him as the dissenting scrutiny on Muhammad's selection escalated. "It's been tough for them," Muhammad says. "The signs are there. It hurts them when I get criticised." Muhammad pauses before smiling with deceptive ease. "When I get this gold medal I will get the glory but they'll share in it too. I dedicated my European title to my parents and if I were to win Olympic gold I would dedicate it to them as well. I'm ready to show everyone I'm the man for this medal."